Valuing what matters Commissioning citizens and communities to provide social care services

The purpose of this guide This guide is for social care commissioners and has been designed to encourage them to value the skills that exist in communities, to realise the value of those skills and to maximise the potential of community groups. It recommends listening to the powerful insights people and groups have into what is working and not working in their lives as well as their aspirations for the future. It explains the benefits of community skills development. It sets out additional guidance and offers practical ways for commissioners to make the most of existing skills within a community and what can be done to enhance these. This resource offers tools that can be used to ensure that co-production with local people and families is at the heart of social care transformation programmes and as a vehicle to improve community engagement.